Friday Feature: Church-Based Learning Centers

Colleen Hroncich

For centuries, churches and homes were at the forefront of education in Europe. The early settlers brought those traditions with them when they established colonies in the New World. From colonial days through the mid- to late-1800s, children were often educated in local churches or at home.

In 1852, Massachusetts passed the nation’s first compulsory schooling law. Other states followed suit, and by 1918 every state had compulsory schooling laws. With most of...